Just Keep Swimming

 Getting the girls settled into swim lessons ended up being a debacle of epic proportions. Normally we just use the park district but they weren't offering lessons this summer so I went with the University of Iowa. Even though I called to confirm, when we showed up, there was no one to teach them. The person I was supposed to connect with was out and not answering his phone (office or mobile). One of the assistant swim coaches for the University of Iowa stepped in and gave the girls an assessment so when a coach was assigned, they'd know where to begin. We were comped the first day of lessons and stayed long afterward to hang out and play. Eventually everything was worked out, but it was several phone calls to increasingly higher ranking staff until I heard back.  

Liesel and Ireland worked on lifeguarding techniques like fetching bricks from the bottom of the pool. Sydney and Brigitta focused on basic skills in the shallow end and I heaved a sigh of relief that Brigitta made such strides this year. Her swimming skills have worried me the most- especially since she's such a dare devil.

A chunk of our day was spent right here. If they weren't in lessons, the girls just played. The water was chock full of chlorine and in spite of my efforts, the girls hair suffered. Eventually I stopped waiting until we were at my parent's house to wash it out- we did it in the locker room right after they finished. That helped some, but it took a while to get their hair back to normal once lessons were finished.

Sydney met the cutest little friend at the pool. Her grandpa would bring her and we even exchanged numbers so they could meet up. He said all my daughters were incredibly kind, which was so lovely to hear.

The splash pad and lazy river areas were perfect for those two while the rest of the girls tackled the climbing wall over and over. 

They got to know which lifeguards were strict about them not getting on top and which ones were more lenient. Watch Brigitta flip into the water when she's done:

I usually read or listened to a podcast but if one of them did a particularly difficult climb, they wanted all my attention (hence all the photos).

Some of those climbs (like this one where the wall curves out) are really tough when their hands are wet and slippery.

You can really see the sense of accomplishment on Ireland's face when she makes it to the top!

Man they loved that place!

On our last day I was kind of desperate to wrap things up and go home. They all insisted on stopping to take photos with Herky in his swim trunks. Sydney is pulling a frown because she didn't want it to be over.

Of course they need individual shots:

One day we met up with Whitney at City Park so the girls could get some sunshine while they swam. I was shocked Liesel was brave enough to flip off of the high dive!

I don't know why this video is so funny to me- something about how Liesel is so particular that Ireland position herself for the best video possible. Ireland is doing a Mario Bros pose and sings a bit of the theme song before she hits the water.

A sweet little split leap:

I'd seen something similar to this on social media and thought I'd try to replicate it... which didn't really work. I don't think it looks like she's actually sitting on a wall and sinking into it a bit... which was the idea. Still, I love how Liesel is game for any photo op.

It was so lovely to get back to a pre-pandemic activity- even if we had to iron out some problems to get there. The girls had a blast in swimming this summer!